Track and Field Heads to Hanover for Heptagonal Championships

Pictured: Dina Emde enters the Heptagonal meet as the second-ranked high jumper in the league.
Photo Courtesy: Harvard Athletic Communications

The Particulars
The men’s and women’s track and field teams head to Hanover, N.H., to compete in the Heptagonal Championships Feb. 27-28. The men’s team is looking to capture its 11th Heptagonal title while the women are looking for their third career win at the meet.

Last Year’s Meet
Cornell was the only team to score more than 100 points on the women’s side, taking their ninth Heptagonal title, and seventh of the last eight, with a score of 117.5 at Gordon Indoor Track. Harvard women’s team had a strong showing, amassing 79.5 points to finish third behind Princeton (99). The Crimson captured the title in four events, beginning with Claire Richardson’s win in the 3,000 meter run. Dara Wilson ’09 won the 60 meter hurdles, Becky Christensen ’09 won the high jump and Shannon Flahive ’09 captured the title in the pentathlon to lead Harvard to its best finish since 2003.

The Big Red also captured the men’s title in 2009, totaling 176.5 points for a commanding win over second-place Princeton (121.5). Harvard finished seventh at the meet, totaling 41 points for the event, which was just 14 points shy of third-place Yale and the most by a Harvard team since 2004. Dan Chenoweth captured the only event win for the Crimson, placing first in the 3,000 meter run. Nico Weiler chipped in with eight points, taking second in the pole vault, and Harvard’s distance medley relay team of Chenoweth, Brian Paison, Robbie Paris and Darcy Wilson, added six points with a third-place finish.

Heptagonal History
The first men’s Heptagonal Championship was held in 1948 at the Boston Garden where Army took the inaugural title with a score of 48 points. Yale was the first Ivy League team to win the event, capturing the title in 1950. Princeton has the most decorated men’s team in terms of Heptagonal Championships, winning its 14th title in 2007. Cornell and Harvard both have 10 career Heps titles with the Crimson’s last title coming in 1985. Penn has eight career meet wins, followed by Dartmouth and Yale (four) and Columbia (one). The Brown men’s team has yet to win a Heptagonal Championship meet.

Princeton won the first three women’s Heps titles, including the first-ever women’s meet in 1981 at Barton Hall in Ithaca, N.Y. Cornell has the most ever wins among Ancient Eight schools with nine, followed by Princeton (seven), Brown (five) and Penn (three). Harvard has two career titles, winning the event in 1990 and 2000. Columbia, Dartmouth and Yale are the three teams without a conference crown.

Scouting the Field
While the Cornell men are looking to defend their Heps title in 2010, the competition looks to be as stiff as ever based on top times put up by Ivy athletes heading into the meet. Harvard’s Brian Hill looks to make an impact in the 800 meter race, as his season-best time of 1:50.80 is just one second off top-seeded Nick Wade’s pace and his 1:03.97 mark in the 400 meters is the fourth best time in the league. Cornell and Princeton share a number of top marks in the field events while Harvard’s Jack Brady looks to make an impact in the shot put and weight throw. Kenneth Wang Kan is ranked within the top 10 in the triple jump and long jump and John Dingus enters with the sixth fastest time in the 400 meters and the fifth fastest time in the 500 meters. Justin Grinstead represents another threat for Harvard as he is ranked within the top 10 in the 200 meter and 500 meter events. Dan Chenoweth, the reigning indoor champion in the 3,000 meters, is always a force in the distance events for the Crimson.

On the women’s side, the Crimson’s Carlyle Davis enters the meet with the top time in the 800 meter run and the third-best time in the 500 meters, while Claire Richardson has the second fastest mile time among Heps participants. Ashtynn Baltimore has the top time in the 60 meter hurdles as the only Ivy athlete to post an NCAA provisional qualifying time in the event, and the top mark in the long jump as well. Dina Emde is the second-ranked high jumper heading into the meet and Christine Reed enters fifth in the 60 meter hurdles and third in the pentathlon. Olivia weeks is also ranked among the top 10 in the long jump (ninth) and triple jump (third).

Last Time Out
The men’s and women’s’ track teams both captured second-place finishes at the annual HYP meet, hosted by Princeton Feb. 13.

The men collected 48 points on the day, topping Yale (27) and falling to host Princeton (105), after capturing two events. Freshman Kenneth Wang Kan continued to be a force in the jumps, posting wins in the long jump (7.02 meters) and triple jump (14.43 meters). Steven Geloneck recorded another strong finish for the Crimson, qualifying first in the 60 meter dash and finishing in second in the event.

The women finished the afternoon with 47.50 points, besting Yale (21) and finishing behind Princeton (90.50), while capturing three events. Olivia Weeks gave the Crimson its first win of the day, taking the title in the triple jump with a mark of 12.10 meters. Mary Hirst and Dina Emde finished one-two in the high jump, posting jumps of 1.65 meters, and Ashtynn Baltimore and Christine Reed did the same in the 60 meter hurdles with times of 8.88 and 8.95, respectively.

On the Horizon
Harvard has had a number of athletes qualify for the ECAC and IC4A Championships, both of which are taking place March 6-7. The men will compete in the IC4As at the Boston University Track and Tennis Center while the women’s ECACs will take place at the Reggie Lewis Center.